CASDA Member Newsletter - October, 2010

CASDA is very proud of the work that we are doing together and in honor of Autism Awareness Month we have issed the press release below. We will be introducing the CASDA website, releasing a position paper and lauching a fall membership drive within days. So stay tuned.

It is by standing behind one another that we have achieved what we have over the last year. Thank you for your support and membership.

October is Autism Awareness Month. The Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorders Alliance (CASDA), led by Autism Society Canada, Autism Canada Foundation and the Geneva Centre for Autism, is proud to share they are working in partnership with the Federal Government to develop a partnership proposal for the advancement of a national autism strategy.

Initiated in 2007, shortly after the Senate Committee Report "Pay Now or Pay Later: Autism Families in Crisis", the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorder Alliance came together to develop a unified voice among the Canadian ASD community. Three years later, CASDA not only continues to review the recommendations made in the Senate Committee report "Pay Now or Pay Later", but it proposes its own strategy to assist its federal partners in the development of a national autism strategy.

In 2010, the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorder Alliance has 38 member organizations from across the country working diligently with a number of federal partners to address key issues. To name a few:

Ensuring we develop a Canadian autism surveillance system;

Developing a capacity to work together to facilitate broad best practices for autism;

Sustain much needed Autism Spectrum Disorder specific research funding, with a focus on prevention and treatment;

Innovating in the field of taxation and reviewing audit procedures in support of treatments and services for families;

As well as acting as national facilitators engaging the provinces and territories and raising awareness at the national level.

It is CASDA's vision that all Canadians living with an ASD have full and equal access to the resources they require to achieve their full potential. Our statistics are based on foreign countries like USA and Britain, because no statistics are available for Canada. Based on that, we estimate that Autism Spectrum Disorders are now being diagnosed in 1 in every 110 children in Canada. Once considered a rare disorder, these numbers present serious implications both socially and economically for our country.

The Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorder Alliance (CASDA) is a growing coalition of organizations sharing common goals, objectives, and a dedication to working with the ASD community to develop a comprehensive national autism strategy that will more effectively serve and support individuals with ASD and their families across Canada.